A series of tent cities developed among protesters at major universities amid a wider series of anti-Israel protests that garnered strong criticism. The protests have led to dozens of arrests and coincide with other demonstrations that shut down major American infrastructure last week.
Columbia University was the first campus where student demonstrators created a large tent city. This was followed by a tent encampment at Yale University, which was dismantled by police, leading to 47 arrests.
Similarly, students took over part of an academic building at The New School in Manhattan while other students set up tents in front of the NYU Stern School of Business.
The disruptions at Yale have received national attention and required students to attend their classes remotely on Monday.
Last week student protesters at Columbia occupied one of the academic buildings. Following the action, campus officials threw the students’ belongings into a courtyard. There were more than 100 arrests, including the daughter of Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN).
Following the arrest, Omar said that she was proud of her daughter.
In addition, on Monday police tore down much of the student encampments at Columbia.
NYPD have torn down the encampments and made mass arrests at Columbia. pic.twitter.com/TRR68DU2ry
— Ian Miles Cheong (@stillgray) April 23, 2024
Columbia has long been a center for left-wing student protests. The university was home to one of the largest anti-Vietnam War demonstrations in 1968, which also included a student occupation of part of the campus.
The other protests nationwide shut down a series of vital transit routes. This included protesters blocking access to the Brooklyn and Golden Gate Bridges. The latter was closed for much of the day.
Furthermore, protesters in Dearborn, Michigan created a large convoy of cars that restricted traffic. Several of the demonstrators were arrested and several vehicles were seized. Another protest saw an avenue to Chicago’s O’Hare airport blocked.
As the protests have grown, so has the condemnation of them, including from some from the political left. In addition to sharp criticism from Republicans, the White House issued a statement Sunday calling antisemitism unacceptable.
